I Spy

Chapter 33: Head Into the Forest

Date: November 2, 2024
Time: 6:23 PM
Location: Kimetsu Cafe
Weather: Windy

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As Kanao walked down the sidewalk with her slayer outfit on (Minus the fox mask, which she stored in her hoodie pocket), she was listening to some songs on her phone with some earplugs plugged into her ear.

"Master said to meet up at the cafe, I wonder what for, most likely for a mission probably..." Kanao thought while reaching into her pocket and grabbing some gum she bought from a store earlier.

"He said to meet up at 6:30... I think I'm on time." Kanao thought as she reached for her phone to quickly check the time before putting it back in her pocket. Kanao continued to walk down the sidewalk as she begins to look around just to take in the look of the calm evening of Japan with the sun almost at the end of its sunset with the sky a deep shade of orange, yellow, and red all mixed together in order to create the magnificent view. "I've never got to take in the beauty of the sunset or other things during my childhood..." Kanao thought as her soft smile started to drop, "But now, thanks to my new adoptive family, I will finally be able to appreciate the beauty of life and cherish it with the ones I love." She thought as her smile soon returned back to her face, "And thanks to Tanjiro, I was able to follow my heart and finally be able to make decisions on my own. Before I was just an emotionless doll with a coin deciding my fate or not." She thought while taking her coin out and looking at it closely.

A brief flash appeared before her eyes as she saw Tanjiro giving the coin back to the girl after completely turning her life around. She then held the coin close to her chest and her smile brightened even more, "Thank you Tanjiro for turning my life completely around." She thought. She then lowered the coin in her hand and tightened her grip on it to make sure she wouldn't lose it.

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After a few minutes of walking, she stopped in front of a cafe with large windows on the front, a glass door, and a sign saying "Welcome to Kimetsu Cafe!". Kanao walked inside the cafe and saw all the customers there talking and chatting with each other.

Kanao walked around and tried to find the person that called her there. "Kanao, my child." A soft but loud voice said. Kanao turned around and saw Ubuyashiki sitting at a table in the corner along with her wife as they both drank a cup of coffee.

"Master," Kanao said as she bowed before sitting down across the two people on a separate chair. "Sorry if I am late, Master," Kanao said while slightly bowing her head, "No need to apologize, my child, you are on time exactly," Ubuyashiki replied while chuckling a bit.

"Ah, I see." Kanao said, "What did you call me for Master, if I could ask?" Kanao added. "Of course you may, I called you here since there has been a recent demon sighting by a couple of people who were hiking in the forest that is northwest of here." Ubuyashiki stated, "Apparently a couple also went missing in that forest too, possibly due to the demons lurking there." He added, "So you have called me here to eliminate them?" Kanao asked, "Yes I have, my young child." Ubuyashiki answered. "Very well Master, I will not fail you." Kanao said as she got up from her table and bowed, "I expect you not to fail young Tsuyuri, considering your power and feats, I imagine that this will be an easy task for you." Ubuyashiki complimented in his same soft and calm tone. "Thank you, Master, I shall leave at once," Kanao said before leaving the table and the cafe itself.

"Such as kind and intelligent girl," Ubuyashiki said to his wife, "I'm glad we have her and her sisters on our side." He added as he took another sip of his coffee while his wife smiled at him.

Meanwhile, a certain male in a red hoodie was eavesdropping on their conversation the entire time. "Northwest Forest, huh?" He thought as he took another sip of the latte he was drinking.

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"8:30..." Kanao thought while trekking through the rough terrain of the forest. She was beginning to pant a bit since the journey was quite a long one due to the fact that she had to hike for a few hours over the very rough and steep ground in order to get where she was, and she only had sneakers on.

"That's my workout for today..." She thought as she took out her blade and placed her fox mask on her face, "I am pretty sure this is what Isuzu said the demons were last spotted." Kanao thought while walking around the area.

"It seems pretty peaceful and quiet..." She thought while taking short glances at the trees and shrubs that were around her.

"I mean, I would've seen some signs of destruction or something if there was a demon spotting here..." Kanao thought as she took a sudden glance at a tree that had some part of it covered with a weird tint.

Kanao went closer to it in order to inspect and she quickly figured out the spot was dried blood that looked like it was only a few days old.

"Scratch that, I believe there is a demon here." She thought. She then heard a rustle coming from one of the bushes behind her, she quickly turned around with her sword in front of her, and ready to leap at anyone who came out of that bush. "Who's there?" She asked.

She held her sword out for a couple of seconds before a rabbit came hopping out of the bush. Kanao lowered her guard, "Oh, a bunny..." Kanao thought while looking at the rabbit who was currently eating some leaves, "Cute..." She thought while she reached into her pocket and grab a pack of baby carrots that she kept with her as a little snack. 

She reached into the bag and threw one of the carrots on the ground. The rabbit noticed the carrot and slowly approached it while being wary of Kanao's presence. It took a quick sniff at the carrot and soon ate it. Kanao then squatted down and took a handful of carrots and slowly approached the rabbit with her hand out in front of her.

The rabbit hesitated and backed away at first at the sight of the giant approaching her. Kanao remained completely still and silent in order to not scare the rabbit away in response to its sudden reaction. The rabbit began to approach the carrots that the girl had in her hand and took one of them and began to eat it.

Kanao smiled at this and let the rabbit eat from her palm as she sat there in complete silence.

"What if I could..." She thought as she slowly reached out her other hand to try to pet the rabbit. The rabbit didn't notice her other hand reaching out of her and just kept eating the carrots. 

Kanao's hand then landed softly and gently on the rabbit as she began stroking the tiny animal. "It's so cute!" Kanao thought with a bright smile on her face and a joyful expression. After a while of petting the animal, she then tried to take it into her arms and continue to pet it.

The rabbit obliged and crawled into her arms and let herself be pet by the girl. "I wonder if I could bring her home..." Kanao thought, "Wait, Shinobu-nee san doesn't like furry animals..." She thought as her smile drooped a bit, "Maybe I could come back and visit it again." She thought, "But that would be highly unlikely since it's a wild animal and could roam anywhere..." Kanao contemplated.

After a while of Kanao sitting there and petting the rabbit with nothing but the wind providing the only sound there was in the silent forest, she began to wonder where the demon would come from since she knew there was a demon here, but she needed to know from where.

"Where will he come from?" Kanao thought while she looked at the rabbit in her hand, "It's now safe for you little buddy..." Kanao said as she let the rabbit go and she watched it scurry away, "Now I can focus on finding the demon..." She thought as she got up and started to look around with her sword in her hands.

Then all of a sudden, a whoosh was heard and a very fast object appeared in front of her. But thanks to Kanao's very sharp eyes, she could tell that it was a demon due to its humanoid figure and oddly shaped and colored body parts.

"It seems that you have dodged my attack young girl." The demon said as it held a dried human skull in his hand. 

Kanao was disgusted by the way the demon posed with the skull in his hand and its arrogant behavior. "Just like the rest..." She thought, "So you were the one who killed the couple?" She questioned, "Bingo," the demon replied. "All though, to be fair, they were not that good, so I decided to leave their bodies to be taken by the animals." The demon said with a sadistic tone.

Kanao was infuriated by the demon's response, "How could you?" She questioned. "I prefer some humans over others, just as simple as that." He responded. 

Unable to keep her cool any longer, Kanao launched at the demon with her sword in her hand. "Flower Breathing: Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagomoro!" She said as she swung her sword in a graceful manner toward the demon.

The sword slice slashed the demon's arm off as he jumped back in order to regain his foothold and heal a bit before attacking, "My my! You're a slayer! I thought we got rid of you a long time ago!" The demon said with an impressed tone. "I thought you would have noticed by now, but it seems like you couldn't use all the brain cells you had in order to figure that out. Or if you have any at least." Kanao said with a smirk. 

This pissed off the demon a bit as he took a stance, "Now it's my turn to attack young girl!" The demon said. "Blood Demon Art: Majestic Curtain!" The demon said as a red velvet curtain appeared around the demon and covered him completely. 

The curtain then unveiled to show that the demon disappeared out of sight as Kanao kept looking around with her guard up. "Where am I, little girl?" A voice said that couldn't be exactly pinpointed to where it came from, "Can't kill what you can't see..." The voice said again. Kanao desperately looked around in order to find where it was coming from until an invisible object that could only be seen due to the warped outline it made with its transparency almost struck Kanao before she moved out of the way. "Good eyes, I'll give you that." The demon said, "Try me." Kanao said with a devious tone. "Don't get too cocky little girl, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve." The demon stated. 

Kanao continued to try to pinpoint where the demon is until rustling can be heard from bushes as the same invisible object was launched at Kanao who managed to dodge it again. The rustling transferred from bush to bush as the demon started to run around the girl while launching the same attack again and again.

Kanao traced the rustling while blocking the invisible objects which were apparently spikes that were being launched at her from the demon. She then used her keen eyesight to spot an outline of a figure that was running through the shrubs, Kanao then took a deep breath and launched herself towards the outline, "Flower Breathing: Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!" She said while twisting her body to deliver her attack. The demon was caught by surprise and frantically lifted up his arms, "Blood Demon Art: Blood Red Roses!" The demon said as roses started sprouting from the arms of the demon. The roses then tangled around Kanao's sword in order to stop her from decapitating him, Kanao was initially caught by surprise as she then saw the roses slowly move up her sword aiming to entangle her body. Kanao then acted quickly as she turned her sword to the side and slice the vines that were keeping her sword stuck.

She then backflipped out of the demon's range in order to stop the vines from completely entangling her. "You girl, are a problem." The demon said as he scoffed, "Thanks." Kanao replied. "Tch," The demon said as he launched another attack. "Blood Demon Art: Bloodborne Rabbits!" The demon said as rabbits started to appear behind him.

At first, they looked innocent but with a snap of the demon's fingers, the rabbit's eyes turned red and their teeth grew sharper. They also looked a lot more aggressive and blood-hungry than before due to the fact that they were now drooling and looking at Kanao with killing intent. 

The bunnies then charged at Kanao as one tried to bite her on the arm and another on the leg. 

Kanao backed before the animals could latch on to her and bite her. The rabbits then charged her again as Kanao kicked one away from her and hit another on the neck with the hilt of her sword while still trying to defend against many more of the rabid animals. 

But the more Kanao tried to push the animals away from attacking her, the more aggressive they would become as one tried to latch onto Kanao's face and scratch her. She quickly hit the rabbit back on the ground with her elbow. It rolled and got right back up and started to attack her again as if nothing happened. "What the hell?!" She thought, "I don't want to do this! But I have to!" Kanao contemplated as she decided to swing her sword at one of the rabbits and decapitated it on the spot.

Kanao felt a small punch in her heart due to the guilt of killing something so innocent and cute. "I'm sorry!" She thought while decapitating more rabbits with their heads flying off blood spurting everywhere. "I swear, you'll guys be in a better place after this!" Kanao thought with the amount of guilt building up in her heart, and soon, she couldn't look at the rabbits she was decapitating and had her eyes closed the entire time. But before she could close her eyes, she saw a vivid image of her slicing a rabbit in half. And she could have sworn that that was the rabbit she met earlier and fed.

"No!" She thought. 

The demon then smiled and took the chance to attack as he charged forward with his sharp claws aiming directly for Kanao's chest. 

Kanao sensed that the demon was about to attack and blocked his attack. 

She then jumped back as she saw the rabbits now turn back to normal and start to scurry away along with the carcasses of the rabbits that she had to decapitate. "You monster! How could you!" Kanao said with a furious tone. "Thank you, my young girl! I was a magician back in my time. I used to perform for people in a clubhouse near Tokyo. I would do countless tricks for them, but apparently, people nowadays don't appreciate the time and effort it takes a magician to practice and accomplish their tricks. It's all about the WOW! Factor and flashing lights now. The people hated my tricks and always used to boo me off-stage, I went from clubhouse to clubhouse and found the same results again and again. Being a magician was my only way to live since I wasn't good at anything else. One day, I had enough of the booing, and after one night of performing I killed one of the people who were in the audience as revenge. And soon after that, I was on the run from the police." The demon said while Kanao listened in.

But unknown to the demon, Kanao was actually trying to wait for the perfect moment to decapitate him while he was trying to tell his backstory. "I was on the run for months, and I couldn't keep up. And one day, the cops finally caught up to me and chased me into a dark alleyway. There was no escape for me until a man approached me and asked me one simple question 'Would you like to become a demon?' He said. I was desperate for escape and I happily obliged. And here I am now! A demon free from harm and the continuous booing of the crowd!" The demon said while chuckling, "You don't know how amazing it has been ever since I became a demon." He said, "Now anyways, where were w-" The demon asked before his head plopped on the ground.

"Me decapitating you?" Kanao replied with a smile on her face, "What! How?!" The demon said, "Simple, you talk too much." Kanao replied.

"NOOOO! Impossible, I can't die!" The demon said while fading away to dust, "Goodbye." Kanao said while placing her sword in her scabbard. 

Kanao looked around the battlefield and saw all the dead bodies of the rabbits that she killed, "That bastard..." She thought while walking to one specific rabbit.

She kneeled on the ground and examined its physical attributes, and she was 100% sure that that was the rabbit she petted earlier. "How dare he makes such innocent animals charge into such a horrible fate." Kanao thought while she clenched her fists, "I'm glad he's dead." She thought.

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Kanao sat there for a few minutes as she contemplated whether she should leave the area or not. "I feel like this is not over, this mission was too short. But I really do hope it's over since I may need to comprehend what just happened..." She thought.

As sat there, she heard a noise from behind it. It sounded like a laser bolt or something making contact with another object. 

She quickly turned around while drawing her sword and she saw the body of a demon with its head looking like it had been blasted off with a gun of some sort due to the imperfect flesh bits that protruded from its neck as a result of being shot in the head with a gun.

The demon slowly started to fade away as Kanao started to look around for who or what did that. "That thing was about to pounce on me, but someone saved me..." Kanao thought, "Who was that?" She thought, "So that's why I was feeling so uneasy afterward, there was still another demon in the area..." She speculated.

She then decided to quickly leave the area and call it a night since the feeling no longer remained in her body. Kanao then zipped out of the area with blinding speeds and made it back home safely.

"Glad to know it works," Tanjiro thought while sitting in a tree with his new gun in his hand.

He spun the gun around on his finger and blew off some of the smoke that was steaming off the barrel and put it back into his coat pocket as he soon also left the area. "Now I have a weapon that is sure to kill these things." He said while walking away.

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"Ho ho ho, what a delightful performance!" A man said while sitting on a rock that overlooked the entire area that Kanao was previously in. "She might be the meal that I desperately need to fulfill my stomach!" He said while waving a fan in his face, "The women I eat at the cult, aren't that tasty anymore, but with her, I might be able to get a decent meal." He said to himself.

He started to laugh to himself like a maniac as his laughs filled the night.

And he too, also decided to leave.

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We haven't had a "Slayer's Creed" in a long time, so let's get started with that!

Kanao: Hello!

Kanao: So starting off where we left off last time when Nezuko told us about the ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Kanao: She also mentioned something about the "Slayer's Archive" too.

Kanao: Well... I'm here to fill you in on the information about the Slayer's Archive.

Kanao: So the Slayer's Archive is basically a library full of personal info about every slayer that has joined the crops ever since the Sengoku era.

Kanao: It's located underground in the Ubuyashiki Mansion and houses thousands of books each filled with info about every slayer that has ever joined the crops ever since the Sengoku era.

Kanao: I'm not sure who writes these books, but I am confident that Master and his family could not have written all these books alone since each book contains the background of the slayer, their missions, rank, and the day they retired or deceased.

Kanao: Every slayer is allowed to visit the archives with permission from the Ubuyashiki family. But I don't think any of us are planning to visit it soon since we don't really know what to do there other than read the info about slayers that we know of.

Kanao: Anyways, that was it for my segment. Join us next chapter where I give me brief report about my mission to Master, the new opening of the Human Ethics class, and me and my friends playing "Truth or Dare" in the chapter, "New Expansion"!

Kanao: Goodbye! See you soon!